On my show on Saturday I managed to snare a very good cast of food and wine lovers, creators, authors and know-it-all’s.
Ian Hemphill
Ian Hemphill owner of Herbie’s Spices is a past President of the Association of Food Professionals and a herb and spice master. He has recently released his latest cookbook, Just Add Spice, co-authored by Lyndey Milan. It is a feast of herbaceous and fragrant food. I know this because he brought two sensational dishes into the studio for us to sample. They were simple to make but tasted complex and rich because of the added spices. Stewart White, President of the Association of Food Professionals had the job of wine matching and nailed each match perfectly.
Tom Kime
Celebrity Chef Tom Kime, from Ready, Steady, Cook fame, the sustainable seafood know-it-all, and I say this with affection dished up two fine fish dishes from his latest book Fish Tales, Stewart matched these to a Piggs Peake, 2008, Wiggly Tail Marsanne. The recipes will be on the site soon so keep an eye out for them. So after we had indulged in Tom’s masterful fish dishes we indulged our taste buds with Ian’s equally ‘morish’ Baharat Beef with Olives. Sometimes referred to as Lebanese seven spice, baharat is a beautifully balanced blend with a woody bouquet and aromatic bay-rum notes, balanced with cinnamon and cassia sweetness. It is not hot, yet conveys all the romantic fragrances of everything that is spice.
Stewart White
Stewart paired this to Piggs Peake 2006 Wolfie Zinfandel, he loves this wine varietal and this particular one has a cassis and brambly, spice nose with mouth filling solid blackberry fruit flavours with a hint of cinnamon and elegant tannin.
The dessert recipe is easy, fragrant and light. I am including this dish for my party in June, I now have the starter, which is Regal King Salmon Pastrami and the dessert; Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup, served with Greek style yogurt. Fresh figs are wonderful in season, but there are such good-quality dried ones available you can enjoy them all year with this recipe. Use figs or dates or a mixture of both, or even prunes. We paired this with the Piggs Peake 2007 Suckling Pig (dessert) Zinfandell. Made from Zinfandel grapes which were left on the vine until they had raisened up making the crushed juice sweeter. Giving a truly luscious full bodied red that marries brilliantly with quality dark chocolate and heavier desserts.
Piggs Peake
If you have not heard of Herbie’s Spices seek them out, you can drop into the spice emporium in Rozelle and can find their spices in all good food stores (including in the MasterChef pantry).
Herbie's Spice Kits
Their website is fantastic and Ian has written a fair few excellent books on herbs and spices all available on the website, http://www.herbies.com.au/
Recipes
Baharat Beef with Olives
Sometimes referred to as Lebanese seven spice, baharat is a beautifully balanced blend with a woody bouquet and aromatic bay-rum notes, balanced with cinnamon and cassia sweetness. It is not hot, yet conveys all the romantic fragrances of everything that is spice. A traditional mix of baharat is added to Middle Eastern recipes in much the same way as Indians would add garam masala. This recipe is easy and exceptionally tasty.
Baharat Beef with Olives
Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 31/4 hours
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3–4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 kg lean beef, cubed
Baharat spice mix:
2 teaspoons mild paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cassia
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
400 g can whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup dry red wine
12–15 black pitted olives
½–1 teaspoon salt
mashed potato, to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan-forced).
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based flameproof casserole dish over medium–low heat and soften the garlic – do not brown.
- Toss the cubes of meat in the baharat mixture. Increase the heat to medium, add the beef to the casserole dish and cook briefly until sealed on all sides. Add the tomatoes, wine, olives and ½ cup water. Season to taste with salt, but keep in mind that the olives are salty so you may not need very much. Stir frequently and bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 2½–3 hours until the beef is very tender. Serve over well-mashed, buttery potatoes.
Cook’s note: This recipe is also delicious made with beef cheeks and cooked for up to 5 hours.
To drink: There are long, lingering flavours here that a heavy, jammy wine would overpower – try a cabernet sauvignon. With beer you need something with a bit of body, like a mid-strength ale.
Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup
Fresh figs are wonderful in season, but there are such good-quality dried ones available you can enjoy them all year with this recipe. Use figs or dates or a mixture of both, or even prunes.
Sticky Figs and Dates in Espresso Syrup
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee
300 g sugar
1/3 cup cognac, armagnac or brandy
Fruit infusion spice mix:
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod, bruised
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon quill
500 g dried figs and/or dates
250 g thick Greek-style yoghurt, mascarpone or ricotta
Method
- Dissolve the coffee in ½ cup boiling water. Strain and reserve.
- Meanwhile, place the sugar, fruit infusion spice mix and cognac, armagnac or brandy in a small saucepan with 2 cups water. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.
- Add the coffee, figs and dates and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the figs soften and plump up and the liquid reduces to a syrup consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Remove the star anise.
- Serve hot, cold or at room temperature with a dollop of yoghurt, mascarpone or ricotta.
Cook’s note: Left-over figs or dates will keep in the fridge, covered in syrup, for a week or so.
To drink: This is rich and wonderful on its own. However, the rich, luscious flavours of a tokay or muscat would be sublime.
Recipes Courtesy of Penguin and Just Add Spice by Lyndey Milan and Ian Hemphill
